1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method of and an instrument or arrangement for installing thermal insulation sheets or rolls in confined and out-of-reach areas, especially corners in an attic having a low overhead and limited access.
2. Description of the Related Art
To prevent heat loss in a house, it is known to lay thermal insulation sheets between horizontal beams or joists extending across the floor of an attic. The sheets are comprised of a fibrous material and are manufactured in various thicknesses, e.g., on the order of 3 to 18 inches, rendering the sheets bulky. The bulky sheets are generally coiled in a roll precut into batts to simplify handling, and are unrolled in the attic to simplify installation.
The deployment of the rolled-up sheets is, however, not an easy task. An installer must stand or kneel on the beams, taking care not to step off into the spaces between the beams. The attic environment is typically hot and not well ventilated or lit. The fibrous material tends to shed, and the resulting dust, when inhaled, is injurious to the installer""s health. All these installation difficulties are aggravated when the insulation is to be installed in the corners of the attic where the sloped rafters meet the beams at the eaves. The installer cannot stand due to the low overhead, and cannot reach his arms deeply into the corners. Further, the bulk of the fibrous sheets themselves make them difficult to push into these corners.
A novelty search of the art uncovered the following U.S. Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 1,158,943; U.S. Pat. No. 3,177,884; U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,983 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,421.
Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to simplify the installation of thermal insulation sheets into confined areas, especially attic corners, and between ceilings and floors currently without insulation.
In keeping with this object, one feature of this invention resides in a method of, and an instrument or arrangement for, installing a thermal insulation sheet into a confined area of low overhead and limited access. The invention comprises mounting a prong at an end of an elongated pole; holding an opposite end of the pole, and stabbing the prong into the sheet to be installed; and pushing the sheet, while maintaining the prong in the sheet, to maneuver the sheet into an installed position in the confined or out-of-reach area.
The use of the pole enables an installer to stand upright further away from the confined area, and to reach more deeply into the confined area than heretofore. The prong is mounted on a head that has a pusher surface. The pusher surface not only contacts the sheet to limit the depth of insertion of the prong into the sheet, but also guides the sheet into the installed position as the installer pushes the pusher surface against the sheet. A wide face of the pusher surface prevents the instrument from penetrating a faced or an unfaced sheet of insulation. A sloped rear surface of the head aids in removing the head in case of over penetration.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.